While You Were Dead
by Lynn Jones
Summary: Liraz has been crushed by Devastator. Ironhide and Riella find her, and notice something odd...what happens next? tie-in to Desert Sunrise. one-shot


**All right, so Liraz is mad at me cause I let Devastator fall on her and crush her. I'm hiding from her right now, so don't tell her where I am! **

**Oh, wait, I forgot…nobody knows where I am. I'm hiding.**

**Anyway, this is what happens right after Liraz gets crushed.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Liraz. Riella belongs to T'Reilani, and the canon characters belongs to Hasbro.**

(Normal POV)

Ironhide fired repeatedly at the monstrous Decepticon. Devastator kept advancing, not even noticing Ironhide's shots.

Then, without warning, Devastator's chest exploded. Ironhide cursed as the giant started to fall and transformed, gunning his engine to get out of the way. What the frag? What had happened? A shrill scream pierced the air, causing Ironhide to slam on his brakes and transform again. Devastator hit the ground.

"What the frag was that?" Ironhide shouted.

"Ironhide! It was Liraz! Devastator landed on her!" Riella called, racing toward the humungous pile of scrap that was Devastator.

_No!_ Ironhide thought. The fact that she'd survived being landed on by Nightbeat flashed through his mind. _But she had time to get her shield up,_ he remembered. _And Devastator's ten times the size of Nightbeat._

_::Prowl to Ratchet. We need you. Nightbeat's hurt bad. If you don't get here soon, we're going to lose him. We might have already lost Liraz.::_ Ironhide tuned out Ratchet's reply as he reached Devastator's massive corpse, Riella right beside him. Together they began shoving pieces out of the way, not daring to blast them in case it hurt the Herald buried underneath.

_By Primus, the seven ancient Primes, and the Matrix, please let her be all right,_ Ironhide thought fiercely. A sound like a whimper reached his audio receptors. Ironhide froze for an instant, exchanging a glance with Riella, and then began digging again with renewed urgency. Riella finally sliced Devastator's head from his neck, and Ironhide kicked the massive piece of scrap away, at last revealing the broken, armored form of the young Herald who's saved both their lives.

Carefully, trying not to hurt her any more, Ironhide lifted the limp form.

"Um, Ironhide…is it just me, or is there something different about her?" Riella asked. The technorganic femme looked closer at the Herald. "Her battlesuit wasn't that color before, was it?"

"You're right. It was more of a gray. That looks…"

"Orange, burnt orange," Ironhide murmured. Liraz's battlesuit had turned orange, several shades darker than her skin. And the skin on her arms, exposed by the battlesuit, had turned black…and…metallic?

"Something's wrong," Riella muttered. "It looks like…like she's…" she broke off with a gasp. "Ironhide, you have to get her out of here. Go!" Unsure of what he was doing – or why – Ironhide transformed, carefully, so that Liraz ended up in the passenger seat of his alt mode. He sped away.

_::Ironhide, where are you going?::_ Nightbeat called, weak from his wounds. Ratchet arrived with the other Autobots and rushed to the detective's side. Ironhide didn't respond.

_::Ironhide!::_ Prowl called.

"Let him go. He needs to do this," Riella murmured, approaching her sparkmate.

_::Ironhide, come back here! That's an order!::_ Optimus ordered.

_::I'm sorry, Optimus. I have to do this. Riella might be able to explain,::_ Ironhide told them. Then the black mech deactivated him comm. Everyone turned to look at Riella.

"I don't fully understand what's happening," she began. "And so I'm not going to try to explain it. Ask Ironhide when he gets back."

**Meanwhile, out of scanner range…**

Ironhide transformed again, careful that Liraz ended up in his hands instead of squished between two gears. He set her down on the ground gently, then sat a little way away.

Was it just his imagination, or had she gotten bigger?

What the slag was going on?

** Can anyone guess what's happening? What does everyone think of this? Please review and let me know!**


End file.
